Ruth Stays with Naomi

In the days of the judges. “Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land” (1:1). A famine is a long time without enough food. These were the same hard years as Gideon and Samson. No bread in the house of bread. Bethlehem means house of bread. Now even Bethlehem was hungry. Off to Moab. Elimelech took “his wife and his two sons” to the country of Moab (1:1). Moab was across the Dead Sea. Its people worshiped other gods, and years before, a king of Moab had ruled over Israel (Judges 3:12-14). Three graves. “Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died” (1:3). Her sons married Orpah and Ruth, women of Moab. Then “both Mahlon and Chilion also died” (1:5). Left alone. “So the woman survived her two sons and her husband” (1:5). Naomi was a widow in a foreign land, with no one to care for her. God sees. “The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow” (Psalm 146:9). Naomi felt forgotten, but she was not. What this means for you. When hard times come, the best place to run is to God and His people. He sees every tear.

When the judges ruled (1:1). Ruth begins in the dark days of Judges, when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). One faithful family story shines in that darkness. Names that teach. Bethlehem, Beit Lechem (say: bayt LEH-khem), means house of bread. Elimelech (say: eh-LEE-meh-lekh) means my God is King. Yet the house of bread had no bread, and the man named my God is King left God's land for Moab. Moab. The Moabites came from Lot's family (Genesis 19). They hired Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22) and later ruled Israel under Eglon: “So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years” (Judges 3:14). To dwell (1:1). The Hebrew word gur (say: GOOR) means to live somewhere as a foreigner for a while. The family planned a short stay. They “remained there” (1:2) about ten years (1:4). Loss upon loss (1:3-5). First the husband died, then both sons. In that world a widow without sons had no one to provide for her or protect her. Naomi lost her family, her support and her future in one decade. The Lord of widows. God's law told Israel to care for widows and strangers. “He relieves the fatherless and widow” (Psalm 146:9). Naomi's story is headed toward exactly that kind of rescue. For us. Grief is real, and Scripture does not hurry past it. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18).

Bethlehem was a town in God's land. Its name means house of bread. But one year there was no bread there. So Elimelech took his family far away to Moab. The people of Moab did not worship the Lord. Then sad things happened, one after another. Elimelech died, and Naomi was a widow. A widow is a woman whose husband has died. Ten years later, both of her sons died too. Naomi was alone in a land far from home. But God had not forgotten Naomi. The Bible says the Lord cares for widows. When life is hard, we can run to God.

Naomi's family moved to Moab. Her husband and sons died. Naomi was very sad. God saw her tears.

Good news from home. Naomi “had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread” (1:6). God was taking care of His land again. Turning home. Naomi set out “to return to the land of Judah” (1:7). Going back to God's land meant going back to God's people. Two loyal daughters-in-law. Orpah and Ruth went with her. They had every reason to stay in Moab, but they loved Naomi. Naomi's blessing. She said, “The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me” (1:8). Even in her sorrow, Naomi prayed for others. Rest. “The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband” (1:9). Naomi wanted them safe and cared for. Tears together. “So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept” (1:9). These three women truly loved each other. Kindness. Naomi asked God to show them kindness. In the next chapters God would show kindness to Naomi and Ruth too. What this means for you. When you are hurting, you can still pray for others. And God cares about families that are hurting.

The Lord visited (1:6). The Hebrew paqad (say: pah-KAHD) means to visit, to come and attend to someone. Zacharias used the same idea about Jesus: “the Dayspring from on high has visited us” (Luke 1:78). Return. Naomi's word on the road was shuv (say: SHOOV), to return or turn back (1:6-12). It is also the Bible's word for turning back to God. Naomi was going home to the land and the people of the Lord. Kindness (1:8). “The Lord deal kindly with you” uses chesed (say: KHEH-sed), God's loyal, covenant love that keeps its promises. Chesed is one of the great words of the book of Ruth. Rest (1:9). Menuchah (say: meh-noo-KHAH) means rest, a settled and secure home. Naomi longed for these young widows to have what she had lost. A grieving woman who blesses. Naomi was in deep pain, yet her first words on the road were a prayer for others in the Lord's name. Sorrow had not turned her away from God. Weeping (1:9). “They lifted up their voices and wept.” Scripture honors tears. These women were not weak; they had lost husbands, and they loved one another. For us. God's chesed often reaches us through the loyal love of other people. Ask God to make you that kind of friend.

One day Naomi heard good news. The Lord had given food to His people. God was taking care of Bethlehem again. So Naomi decided to go home. Orpah and Ruth loved her, so they came along. On the road, Naomi stopped and thought about them. They were young, and she wanted them to be happy. So she told them to go back to their mothers. She asked the Lord to be kind to them. She hoped they would find new husbands and homes. Then she kissed them, and they all cried out loud. Naomi was sad, but she still prayed for others. That is real love.

God gave His people food again. Naomi started home. Ruth and Orpah went too. They loved Naomi very much.

Turn back. Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me?” (1:11). She had no sons to give them and no future to offer. Two choices. “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her” (1:14). Clung means held on tight and would not let go. Back to her gods. Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods” (1:15). Orpah's choice was about more than a home. Ruth's promise. “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go” (1:16). Entreat means beg. A new people and a new God. “Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God” (1:16). Ruth chose Israel's God. For life. “Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried” (1:17). There would be no going back. She called on the Lord. Ruth sealed her promise with God's own name: “The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me” (1:17). What this means for you. Following God is a real choice. Ruth chose God when it cost her everything, and God never let her down.

Naomi's argument (1:11-13). Naomi reasoned from the law of the near relative (Deuteronomy 25:5-6): a dead man's brother could marry his widow. She had no more sons, so she had no future to offer. Clung (1:14). The verb dabaq (say: dah-VAHK) means to stick to or hold fast. It is the word used in Genesis 2:24 when a man is “joined to his wife.” Ruth's loyalty was that strong. Her people and her gods (1:15). Moab worshiped Chemosh (1 Kings 11:7). To go back to Moab was to go back to Moab's gods. Orpah's choice was kind and understandable, but it turned away from the Lord. Ruth's vow (1:16-17). Ruth chose a place (“wherever you go”), a people (“your people”), a God (“your God”) and a grave (“where you die”). It was a complete change of loyalty. The covenant name. Ruth swore by YHWH (say: yah-WEH), the Lord, Israel's covenant name for God. A woman of Moab was trusting the God of Israel. Chesed in action. Ruth showed chesed to Naomi, loyal love that would not leave. Many Christians hear in her words an echo of Christ's promise to His people: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). For us. Faith is not only believing facts about God. It is giving ourselves to Him and to His people for life, the way Ruth did.

Naomi begged Orpah and Ruth to go back. She said she was too old to have more sons. There was nothing she could give them. Orpah cried, kissed Naomi, and went back home. She loved Naomi. But she went back to her people and her gods. Ruth did something different. Ruth held on to Naomi and would not let go. She said, “Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.” Ruth chose the Lord, the one true God. She promised to stay with Naomi until she died. This was a choice of faith. Ruth left everything to follow God.

Ruth made a promise. She would stay with Naomi. She said, “Your God will be my God.” Ruth chose to follow the Lord.

Home again. “When they had come to Bethlehem… all the city was excited because of them” (1:19). The women asked, “Is this Naomi?” A new name. “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (1:20). Naomi means pleasant, and Mara means bitter. Full and empty. “I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty” (1:21). She had left with a husband and two sons. She came back without them. Honest with God. Naomi told the truth about her pain. The Bible is full of prayers like this: “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). God is not afraid of our honest feelings. Not as empty as she felt. Naomi said “empty,” but Ruth was standing right beside her. God's gift was already there. Barley harvest. “Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest” (1:22). The house of bread had bread again. A hope ahead. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). What this means for you. You can pour out your heart to God (Psalm 62:8). Even on your saddest day, He is already at work.

All the city was excited (1:19). The whole town buzzed with surprise. Ten years of grief had changed Naomi so much that people hardly knew her. Naomi and Mara (1:20). Naomi (say: nah-oh-MEE) means pleasant; Mara (say: mah-RAH) means bitter. The same root names the bitter water at Marah in Exodus 15:23, which the Lord made sweet. The Almighty (1:20-21). Naomi calls God Shaddai (say: shah-DYE), the Almighty. She never stopped believing God was in control; her pain came from believing it. Lament. Naomi's words are like the psalms of lament (Psalm 13:1-2): honest complaint spoken to God, not away from Him. “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). Full and empty (1:21). Naomi was right that she had lost much. But she could not yet see what God was doing. The one she counted as nothing, a foreign widow, would become the doorway to her joy (Ruth 4:15). Barley harvest (1:22). The barley harvest began in early spring, around Passover. Famine at the start and harvest at the end: God was turning Naomi's story around. Ruth 2 opens in a barley field. For us. God is near the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). Feelings of emptiness are real, but they are not the final word about God's care.

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. The women of the town were so surprised to see Naomi. Naomi said, “Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara.” Naomi means pleasant, and Mara means bitter. Naomi felt that God had made her life very sad. She told God and everyone how she really felt. It is okay to tell God when we are sad. He is not angry with us for being honest. Naomi felt empty, but she was not empty. God had given her Ruth, who loved her. And they came home just as the barley harvest began. God was already working on a happy ending.

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Naomi felt empty and sad. But Ruth was with her. God had good plans.

Ruth Stays with Naomi

🎉 All Matched!